uk_lefty

Well, she can't say "f@*& it, they offered me loads of cash and a massive boost to promo and I said HELL YEAH here's my sort code and account number!" It is a load of twaddle but it's probably been written by some marketing bloke in his 40's trying to behave like a teenager. It looks and sounds like a very cool bass. I'd love to have a go on one with that double bridge pup and a powerful active system. I love the colour too. I can "see" the electronics in that being used across a wide variety of genres. Fair play to everyone involved, apart from the dodgy "inspirational words" stuff which sounds like the guff X factor contestants used to be forced to say on camera.

I had the actual DG and it was so incredibly flexible, only sold it as I went back to multi FX. Try the clone version, it's a cheap way of learning what you like/ what plays nicely with the rest of your set up.

First bass, aged 15: Tanglewood Nevada, a p bass copy in sunburst. So glad I went for an actual lefty bass instead of getting a right hander and holding it upside down. Second bass: listening to Pearl Jam really opened up my ears to fretless in a rock scenario. I got a fiver string fretless for my 18th, a Kramer Striker, and I still have it to this day, and it gets at least one gig per year. It was a toss up between this and a Steinberger Spirit "cricket bat". Again, I think I made the right choice. If I got a call to play on a recording this bass would come with me. I know it better than any other. First high quality bass: Warwick Streamer LX. This actually knocked my confidence because it just didn't really come alive for me. But, I played a mexican jazz in a shop and that did so I learned that it's not just about how much you spend. Best high quality bass: Musician Stingray (US made, three band EQ) bought late 2018 to celebrate a decent tax rebate and a new job. It's still my "number 1" for playing live though I rotate it with others. The punchy attack and high end sizzle just lend themselves to most of what I have done in bands since I bought it. It also reacts very well to being played with a pick. There's been many others: a cheap six string, a Washburn Status, a Hohner headless cricket bat, an Aria Pro SB, Fender jazzes, a precision or two, a Harley Benton jazz, Epiphone Jack Casady... Some still with me, some not. They're great to have and to use, but they're not the ones I'd save from a burning building.

. Pretty sure I'm using ACS Pro17s. Have had them trouble free for at least three years. The options with them are great, mine are bright orange and have my name on in case I drop them. The singer in an old band was struggling with severe tinnitus from years of playing in loud bands and I just thought "I don't want to be like that". In my first few sessions with them I felt a bit like I was cut off from everyone else but I got over it very quickly and wear them while watching live bands and in noisy public places. They're also great for kids parties!

Jeez, they don't have to give anything away to anyone. The tour still has to be viable, the fact they are giving money away to anyone should be applauded. Why look to pick holes in it?

Maybe I was just lucky but my B stock Sire V7 from them was faultless, perfectly set up, looked like it had never been touched. I'm pretty sure I've had quite a few B stock items from there over the years and not once had an issue.

Thanks everyone. I used cobalt flats before and something about them just didn't work for me. I just started using a Boss ME90-B so might just get under the skin of that to find the right pre for each bass.

So, I've got a Fender player P bass. It sounds perfect with Ernie Ball flats being played through a valve amp with the gain set nice and high. I don't always have this luxury though and sometimes I want a bit more bite from it. Example: I played a festival last weekend and had v little time to set up using unfamiliar kit, the sound was very woolly. Here's my thoughts on options, grateful for any advice: Put round-wounds on it Add a j bridge pickup Add a p pickup at the bridge Add one of those fender "double jazz" things at the bridge Save up and get a Fender Aerodyne jazz when one comes available at the right price Stop whining, it's a p bass doing it's thing And here's some of the complications... I've never got on with PJ basses. I have a jazz bass and a Stingray already so why butcher the P? I could buy a Harley Benton PJ to see if I get on with it for just a fraction more than the cost of the pickups... Saving up for an Aerodyne isn't possible right now as I just moved house and tradesmen seem to think everything needs to cost £5000+

It's all gone a bit silly... In size order: SWR Working Pro 10. Great little wedge combo, doubles up as an onstage monitor. Top quality amp, only 100 watt output though. Decent for gigs giving a quality signal to FOH and surprisingly audible over a loud drummer. Fender Bassman TV 12. A recent purchase, valve combo in yellow tweed. Really nice traditional sounding amp. Has enough about it to be my onstage amp for festivals with decent monitoring. 150w output. Sounds delicious with the gain maxed. Bought after the Marshall head this summer just kind of "because". It has had a few gigs this summer though! Marshall DBS 7200 head. Blendable solid state and/ or valve pre amp. Phenomenal sound. 200w output but peaks at 2000w. Bought as a "spare" but has already seen a few gigs running my Ashdown cabs. Bought this summer because I really wanted one in the 90s but couldn't afford it. Ashdown ABM600 Evo IV head and 2x Ashdown ABM Neo 15" cabs. The dogs danglers. Highly versatile amp with more power than you could ever need. Really, I don't need any of the others. I like having a practice amp and some different stuff to pique my interest every now and then though. This sees the majority of my gigs.

Not sure if it's this site or another but the guitarist in my band has won TWO very good quality guitars and a headphone practice amp thingy in the last six months. Some of the competitions tell you how many tickets are sold so you know your odds of winning. He's won a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender US Acoustasonic. Not bad for £5 or £10 worth of tickets.

It looks ok. If I'd made it myself I'd be quite pleased. But to take it out and gig it I would need to be playing something in the right kind of image for it. I wouldn't pay actual money for one myself.

Also got the Spark 40. If I played rhythm guitar on occasion I'd be tempted to buy the extension cab. It's a great bit of kit for practice and home recording.

Ran a firmware update... Haven't had the same problems since. Also tinkered through the presets tonight and looked at the Tone Library thingy. Some good presets on there, hidden amongst loads of sound effects. Overall I have to say that the old GT10-B was "better". It had tons of very usable presets and was infinitely programmable. The ME90-B is very good, I still need to get more under the skin of it, but busy gig and home schedules mean I just need it ready to go. More to discover with this, I'm sure. But for Saturday I just need a good core tone, a good overdrive, and some chorus and delay.

The first proper band I joined once had a bassist who had the notes written on the neck. He'd ask what key a song was in and just play that single note all the way through. I think you will be ready. Playing with other people is the quickest way to improve IMO. Jam nights, auditions, joining a band, playing along with friends... It will build your confidence and teach you a few tricks like being able to pick up what chord a guitarist is playing just by looking at his or her hands and knowing when verses etc are ending by the way the drummer changes the feel. All stuff you can't do with an MP3 at home. Just go for it!

It depends how much you need a really authentic recreation of the original bass sound. If you were playing to bass nerds it might be important but really just getting some of the essence should be sufficient, surely? For me if I use a pick I might roll down the volume knob on the bass a bit. But usually if I'm playing with a pick I want a more prominent bass sound so I just leave as is. If playing finger style and wanting a more traditional sound on my MM Stingray I might boost the kids, whereas I cut the kids for a lot of pick stuff to bring out the clank. But aside from a minor change to onboard EQ, or pickup balance of using a passive jazz, I wouldn't bother with major differences, it's just more to get wrong when you forget to switch it off for the next song.

I'm going to plug it into the laptop tonight to see if there's a firmware update needed. All of the issues seem to be on the compressor side which is really annoying! I've got loads of gigs coming up, I can't really afford to be without something and I sold off all my individual pedals...

Odd experience with this pedal. It just went silent a few songs into its first gig last night. There were all sorts of tech issues going on so I just went bass straight into amp via cable only to the end. Tested the boss this morning and odd behaviours continued. It worked in manual mode so I tinkered around changing effects and stuff just to see if any problems flared up. Then the compressor wouldn't switch on, but the light above the description part was on, when I pressed the foot switch the light only came on until I released the switch. Odd. I changed the compressor type and it was fine, then changed back to the one I wanted, fine again. Very odd. I haven't had this before.

Wish bass?

No idea. I don't know who that is.

Hope you get this job, your passion for it comes across and you're clearly leaving no stone unturned! Personally, no... I'm quite against most forms of artificial cosmetic enhancement to be honest. I've got grey/ white hair in my beard and my head hair is getting thinner and lesser daily. I am content to grow old disgracefully, I am happy with a craggy face and a few years back my wife gave up trying to persuade me to buy mens moisturiser. If a band wanted me to dye my hair or even just wear something I wasn't comfortable with I think I'd politely decline. If I felt I wouldn't fit in with a band unless I did x, y, z that I wasn't sure about then I'd probably ask them. When joining my current band, the desert penguins, I noticed the guitarists had black and white guitars, I asked if it was deliberate to have penguin coloured guitars... Luckily they said they'd never meant for it and never noticed, so I was ok using my natural wood stingray.

Cost of shipping, import tax, VAT, exchange rates... I believe those things will play a more significant part.

Gorgeous bass! I absolutely love my Stingray. Playing it live is always an absolute joy. Hope you get the same enjoyment out of yours as I do from mine.

Repetition used to really help for me. But then if you asked me how many bars until this change happens etc. I wouldn't know without the lyrics and drums as prompts. The band I'm in now does something people either hate or are indifferent to: we have iPads on our mic stands with notes on the songs. Some of my notes are just "riff B-E" for the whole song, others are section by section spelling out the chords. It's not perfect, it becomes a crutch and stops you properly internalising some songs, but when you've got a hundred songs in the repertoire and you change up the sets for each gig then it's just simply not possible to remember them all.

Lovely Stingray!!